Apparatus for reducing slab width



1968 s. KAZEBEE ETAL 3,367,162

APPARATUS FOR REDUCING SLAB WIDTH Filed April 7, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 1//VV/W' 1. L E WEL L ml 5. 10425555 FRANK A. PURD) and WAL 7'51? 51/7 I?X7 AME na Feb. 1968 L s. KAZEBEE ETAL 3,367,162

APPARATUS FOR REDUCING SLAB WIDTH 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April '7, 1965Feb. 6, 1968 L. s KAZEBEE ETAL 3,367,162

APPARATUS FOR REDUCING SLAB WIDTH 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 7, 1965INVENTORS LLEWELLYN .S. KAZEBEE FRANK A PURDY and WALTER .SUTER Attorney:1 Tit R Mk MK wk MN A \Q Feb. 6, 1968 1.. s. KAZEBEE ETAL 3,367,162

APPARATUS FOR REDUCING SLAB WIDTH 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 7, 1965 5Sheets-Sheet 5 ney 5 E m Ed M I VA r NKV! A l m D u a K R NT L W w 1785-1968 1.. s. KAZEBEE ETAL APPARATUS FOR REDUCING SLAB WIDTH Filed April7, was

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United States Patent G 3,367,162 APPARATUS FOR REDUCING SLAB WIDTHLlewellyn S. Kazebee, Fullerton, Frank A. Purdy, Woodland Hilts, andWalter Sitter, Hollywood, Calif., assignors to United States SteelCorporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 7, 1965, Ser. No.446,221 14 Claims. (Cl. 72-205) ABSTRAQT OF THE DESCLGSURE Anedge-rolling mill for hot steel slabs formed by a continuous castingprocess. Mill includes a plurality of vertical sets of rolls situatedbetween two conventional horizontal roll stands. The vertical rollsreduce the slab width quite drastically, while assisting the horizontalrolls in maintaining the slab under tension.

This invention relates to an improved edge-rolling mill for reducing thewidth of steel slabs or the like.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved edge-rolling millwhich operates in conjunction with conventional horizontal roll standsto reduce the total section of a slab in one closely coupled operationwithout turning or stopping the slab.

A further object is to provide an improved edge-rolling millparticularly adapted for reducing the width of slabs formed by acontinuous casting process, where it is desirable to reduce the slabwidth quite drastically with the slab under tension before it becomestoo cool.

A more specific object is to provide an improved edgerolling mill whichincludes at least three sets of rolls journaled on vertical axes toreduce a slab width in steps and apply tension to the slab, and meansfor applying pressure to the rolls and controlling their spacing.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an end elevational view partly in section of ouredge-rolling mill taken from the entry end and with the front tensionplate broken away;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal vertical section on line IIII of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal section on line III-III of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view on a larger scale to show one ofthe tension slide assemblies;

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal section on a larger scale on line V-V of FIGURE1;

FIGURE 6 is a vertical section on line VIVI of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a vertical section on line VII-VII of FIGURE 6; and

FIGURE 8 is an end elevational view similar to FIG- URE 1, but includingthe front tension plate, and showing how we remove and install therolls.

Our rolling mill includes a stationary base frame 10 fabricated of steelplates rigidly fixed to one another, as by Welding. The plates at thetop of the frame define an opposed pair of relatively wide transverseslideways 12 and an opposed pair of narrow slideways 13 (FIGURE 2). Wemount a first opposed pair of slide housings 14 and 14a on the baseframe 10 for transverse sliding movement along the respective slideways12 and a second opposed pair of slide housings 15 and 15a for similarmovement along the respective slideways 13. The base frame 10 carries anopposed pair of slidably supported upstanding ram crossheads 16 and 16aat its outer ends (FIGURE 3). Front and rear tension plates 17 and 17aextend across the entry and exit sides of the mill, spanning the twocrossheads and the space therebetween. The mid portions of the tensionplates carry downwardly projecting keys 18 which are received incorresponding keyways in the base frame 10. The ends of the tensionplates have integral flanges 19 which extend around the edges of thecrossheads and are bolted thereto. The tension plates have windows 20 toallow slabs S to pass therethrough. The base frame carries rests 26 ateach side of the center line for slidably supporting the tension plates.

We mount a first opposed pair of hydraulic rams 21 and 21a in crossheads16 and 16a for forcing the slide housing 14 and 14a toward each other.Similarly we mount a second opposed pair of hydraulic rams 22 and 22a inthe crossheads for forcing the other slide housings 15 and 15a towardeach other. We interpose removable blocks 23 between the hydraulic ramsand slide housings to transmit ram forces to the housings. Within thebase frame 10 we mount four hydraulic pull-back cylinders 24, only twoof which are shown (FIGURES l and 2). We connect these cylinders withthe respective slide housings 14, 14a, 15 and 15a for separating thehousings. The hydraulic rams and pull-back cylinders have suitableconnections for admitting and discharging fluid under pressure toposition the slide housings.

We fabricate the four slide housings of steel plates rigidly fastenedtogether. At their lower ends the housings have keeper plates 25 toretain them in the respective slideways 12 and 13 (FIGURE 2). The slidehousings extend upwardly from the base frame between the tension plates17 and 17a. The slide housings all have relatively high centers ofgravity, and the slide housings 15 and 15a have only narrow supportingbases on their slideways 13. To furnish better stability for the slidehousing 15, we mount two tension slide assemblies (one upper and onelower) between housings 14 and 15. As FIGURE 4 shows, each lower tensionslide assembly includes a tension bar 28 attached to the slide housing15 and extending through a slot 29 in the wall of the slide housing 14.Two pairs of rollers 30 are journaled to the tension bar and ride onwear plates 31 fixed to the inner face of housing 14. The attachingmeans for the tension bar includes a built-up rubber sandwich 32 whichwe compress after the parts are assembled to provide the desiredpre-tension in the assembly. We also mount a series of mating tool steelbearing strips 33 and bronze wear strips 34 between the housings toprovide sliding contact surfaces. The upper tension slide is similar(FIGURE 2). We also mount similar upper and lower assemblies (not shown)between the slide housing 14a and 15a.

The slide housing 14 contains two lower roll chocks 35 and 36 and twoupper roll chocks 37 and 38 aligned with the respective lower chocks(FIGURE 2). Similarly the slide housing 15 contains aligned lower andupper roll chocks 39 and 40. We journal a primary roll 41 in the twochocks 35 and 37, an intermediate roll 42 in the two chocks 36 and 38,and a finishing roll 43 in the two chocks 39 and 40. The primary andintermediate rolls 41 and 42 are of the same diameter, but we insertshims 44 within the slide housing 14 behind chocks 36 and 38, wherebythe circumference of the intermediate roll projects further inwardly(FIGURE 3). The finishing roll 43 is of larger diameter and projectsstill farther inwardly. Each roll has a respective flange 45 at itslower end and tapers slightly from its upper end to its flange. During arolling operation the taper drives the slab S downwardly against theflange to position the slab and prevent vertical movement in eitherdirection.

The upper end of the primary roll 41 has an integral splined extension46 to which we connect the splined sleeve of a flexible drive spindle47. The upper end of housing 14 carries a speed reducer 48, the outputshaft of which is mechanically coupled to the upper end of spindle 47. Amotor bracket 49 is carried on two upstanding slotted pins 50 mounted onthe housing of the speed reducer and is held in position by suitablelocking wedges and tie bolts (not shown). Bracket 49 carries drive motor51 removably coupled to the input side of the speed reducer for drivingthe primary roll 41. The finishing roll 43 has a splined extension 52and drive spindle 53, and the slide housing carries a speed reducer 54,motor bracket 55 and motor 56 all arranged similarly to correspondingparts just described. The intermediate roll 42 is an idler. Each of theslide housings 14 and 15 carries a respective lubricant pump 57 anddrive motor 58 therefor, which form part of a forced lubrication systemfor its speed reducer. We have not shown details of the speed reducers,motors or lubrication system since per se they can be of conventionalconstruction. The housings of motors 51 and .56 carry blowers 59 anddrive motors 60 therefor. The parts carried by the other housings 14aand 150 are of similar construction to those carried by housings 14 and15, although in some instances of opposite hand; hence we have notrepeated the description.

As FIGURE 3 shows, we mount two air-water atomizing spray nozzles 61adjacent the rear of each roll 41, 42 and 43. We connect these nozzlesto the plant water and compressed air supply lines through suitablepiping and control and operating valves (not shown). We also mount rollwipers 62 behind the rolls to prevent the cooling spray from impingingon the slab and to wipe excess water from the rolls before they contactthe slab.

The mill also has upper and lower slab guides between the opposed slidehousings to restrain slabs S against unusual vertical movement. Thelower slab guide includes a supporting table 65 fixed to the base frame10, pedestals 66 removably mounted on table 65, and a pair of rails 67mounted on the pedestals (FIGURES 1 and 4). The upper guide includes apair of cross beams 68 and 69 supported on horizontal roll stands A andB at the entry and exit ends of our mill (FIGURES 5, 6 and 7). The beamscarry respective upstanding slotted pins 70 on which we removably mounta tie member 71. We insert wedges 72 in the slots in said pins torestrain the guide against upward movement. The tie member has two pairsof spaced upstanding lugs 73 of inverted U-shape, a pair of verticalpassages 74 beneath the spaces between lugs, and a depending portion 75which fits between the beams 68 and 69. We insert a wedge 76 between oneend of the depending portion 75 and beam 69, but leave a gap 77 betweenthe other end and beam 68 to allow for thermal expansion. We mountrespective posts 78 in passages 74 for vertical adjustment. The mountingmeans includes a screw 79, collars 80 and 81 fixed to the screw, and anut 82 nonrotatably held between lugs 73 and threadedly receiving thescrew. The posts are suitably apertured to accommodate the screw andnut. We attach a guide beam 83 to the lower ends of the posts and a pairof inverted rails 84 to the bottom of the beam. The bottom rails 67 lieslightly below the level of flanges 45 on the rolls, while the top rails84 are adjustable vertically to accommodate slabs of differentthickness.

Our edge-rolling mill is situated between two horizontal roll stands Aand B which can be of conventional construction. We operate thehydraulic rams 21, 21a, 22 and 22a to position the primary, intermediateand finishing rolls 41, 42 and 43 in accordance with the slab width. Theslab S enters from the roll stand A, and the three sets of edging rollsact on it in turn. Next the slab goes to the roll stand B. As the slabpasses through our mill, the top and bottom guides assures that itremains properly positioned in the rolls. The horizontal roll stands Aand B serve to tension the slab as it travels through our mill. During arolling operation the tension plates 17 and 17a react the separatingforces from the rams. The slidable engagement of the ram crossheads 16and 16a with the base frame 10 and of the tension plates with the rests26 enables the tension plates to expand under the separating force loadsand permits the resulting movement of tension plates and ram crossheads.The keyed center connections 18 carry any differential loading betweenthe rams resulting either from a ram failure or from slab misalignment.

Our mill is readily disassembled for repair or maintenance. As FIGURE 8shows, the outside faces of the slide housings carry chain mechanisms 85which we use to lift the blocks 23 from the spaces between the hydraulicrams and slide housings. We then operate the pull-back cylinders 24 tospread the slide housings to provide clearance between the speedreducers at the upper ends of the slide housings. Next we remove thelower slab guide 66, 67 from table 65, and the tie member 71 of theupper slab guide from the cross beams 68 and 69. We retract or collapsethe spindles 47 and 53 from the splined extension 46 and 52 and thusfree the rolls. We detach the chocks from the slide housings, and by useof suitable handling equipment, move each roll and its chocks into thespace between housings. We then lift each roll and its chock from thetop of the mill with a crane hook 86. We can also remove the motorbrackets 49 and 55 and motors 51 and 56 as units from the slidehousings.

The electric and hydraulic circuits used to operate our mill areequipped with controls for driving the rolls at proper speeds andpositioning the rolls at the proper location with respect to the slab.We have not shown or described these controls, since they are designedaccording to known principles and are not of our invention.

While we have shown and described only a single embodiment of ourinvention, it is apparent that modifications may arise. Therefore, we donot wish to be limited to the disclosure set forth but only by the scopeof the anpended claims.

We claim:

1. An edge-rolling mill for slabs comprising a base frame, a firstopposed pair of slide housings supported on said base frame fortransverse sliding movement, a second opposed pair of slide housingssupported on said base frame adjacent said first pair for transversesliding movement independently thereof, a pair of primary rolls and apair of intermediate rolls journaled on vertical axes in said first pairof slide housings, a pair of finishing rolls journaled on vertical axesin said second pair of slide housings, drive means mounted on said slidehousings and operatively connected with said primary and finishingrolls, said intermediate rolls being idlers, and hydraulic means mountedon said base frame operatively connected with said slide housings forpositioning said rolls.

2. A rolling mill as defined in claim 1 further comprising upper andlower slab guides mounted between the slide housings on opposite sidesto prevent unusual vertical movement of a slab.

3. A rolling mill as defined in claim 1 in which said hydraulic meansincludes ram crossheads slidably supported at opposite sides of saidbase frame, hydraulic rams mounted in said crossheads in alignment withthe respective slide housings for pushing them toward each other, frontand rear tension plates keyed to said base frame and connecting saidcrossheads to react the separating forces from said rams, and pull-backcylinders mounted within said base frame and connected with therespective slide housings for separating them, the slidable support ofsaid crossheads permitting expansion of said tension plates underseparating force loads.

4. A rolling mill as defined in claim 1 further comprising tension slidemeans mounted on one pair of slide housings and engaging the other pairof slide housings to stabilize the slide housings yet permit relativesliding movement therebetween.

5. A rolling mill as defined in claim 1 in which said drive meansincludes drive spindles connected with the rolls, speed reducers mountedon the respective slide housings and having output shafts connected withsaid spindles, motor brackets mounted on the slide housings, and motorsmounted on said motor brackets and operatively connected with said speedreducer.

6. The combination, with a pair of spaced horizontal roll stands forreducing the thickness of a hot steel slab, of an edge-rolling millsituated between said stands for reducing the slab width, said millcomprising a plurality of rolls arranged in opposed pairs and journaledon vertical axes for engaging the edges of the slab at a plurality ofpoints, means operatively connected with said rolls for positioning therolls of each pair successively closer together, and drive meansoperatively connected with the rolls of certain of said pairs, saidstands being arranged to tension a slab as it passes through said mill,whereby the total section of the slab is reduced in one closely coupledoperation.

7. The combination, with a pair of spaced horizontal roll stands forreducing the thickness of a hot steel slab, of an edge-rolling millsituated between said stands for reducing the slab width, said millcomprising a pair of opposed primary rolls, a pair of opposedintermediate rolls, and a pair of opposed finishing rolls, meansjournaling each of said rolls on a respective vertical axis, meansoperatively connected with said rolls for positioning each pairsuccessively closer together, and drive means operatively connected withthe primary and finishing rolls, said stands being arranged to tension aslab as it passes through said mill, whereby the total section of theslab is reduced in one closely coupled operation.

8. The combination, with a pair of spaced horizontal roll stands forreducing the thickness of a hot steel slab, of an edge-rolling millsituated between said stands for reducing the slab width, said millcomprising a base frame, a first opposed pair of slide housingssupported on said base frame for transverse sliding movement, a secondopposed pair of slide housings supported on said base frame adjacentsaid first pair for transverse sliding movement independently thereof, apair of primary rolls and a pair of intermediate rolls journaled onvertical axes in said first pair of slide housings, a pair of finishingrolls journaled on vertical axes in said second pair of slide housings,drive means mounted on said slide housings and operatively connectedwith said primary and finishing rolls, and hydraulic means mounted onsaid base frame and operatively connected with said slide housings forpositioning said rolls with each pair successively closer together, saidstands being arranged to tension a slab as it passes through said mill,whereby the total section of the slab is reduced in one closely coupledoperation.

9. A combination as defined in claim 8 in which said intermediate rollsare idlers.

10. A combination as defined in claim 8 in which said mill furthercomprises upper and lower slab guides mounted between the slide housingson opposite sides to prevent unusual vertical movement of a slab, saidlower guide being supported on said base frame, said upper guide beingsupported on said stands.

11. The combination, with a pair of spaced horizontal roll stands forreducing the thickness of a hot steel slab, of an edge-rolling millsituated between said stands for reducing the slab width, said millcomprising a base frame, a first opposed pair of slide housingssupported on said base frame for transverse sliding movement, a secondopposed pair of slide housings supported on said base frame adjacentsaid first pair for transverse sliding movement independently thereof, apair of primary rolls and a pair of intermediate rolls journaled onvertical axes in said first pair of slide housings, a pair of finishingrolls journaled on vertical axes in said second pair of slide housings,drive means on said slide housings operatively connected with saidprimary and finishing rolls, ram crossheads slidably mounted on saidbase at opposite sides of the mill, hydraulic means mounted in saidcrossheads and operatively connected with said slide housings forpositioning said rolls with each pair successively closer together, andfront and rear tension plates connected between said crossheads atopposite sides to react the separating forces from the hydraulic meansas a slab passes between said rolls, said tension plates having windowsto permit the slabs to pass, the slidable support of said crossheadspermitting expansion of said tension plates under separating forceloads, said stands being arranged to tension a slab as it passes throughsaid mill, whereby the total section of the slab is reduced in oneclosely coupled operation.

12. A combination as defined in claim 11 in which said tension platesare keyed at their midportions to said base frame, and including restsmounted on said base frame slidably supporting said tension plates.

13. A rolling mill as defined in claim 1 further comprising front andrear tension plates connected to said hydraulic means, said front plateextending across said first pair of housings, said rear plate extendingacross said second pair of housings, said plates reacting the separatingforces from the hydraulic means as a slab passes between said rolls andhaving windows permitting slabs to enter and leave the mill.

14. A combination as defined in claim 8 in which said mill furthercomprises front and rear tension plates connected to said hydraulicmeans, said front plate extending across said first pair of housings,said rear plate extending across said second pair of housings, saidplates reacting the separating forces from the hydraulic means as a slabpasses between said rolls and having windows permitting sl-abs to enterand leave the mill.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,213,714 9/1940 Mekeel 722382,603,990 7/1952 Sheperdson 72-238 2,635,493 4/1953 Schumacher 72-2263,160,037 12/1964 Russell et al. 72238 3,194,045 7/1965 Hill 72-238FOREIGN PATENTS 22,806 4/1909 Great Britain.

RICHARD J. HERBST, Primar Examiner. A. RUDERMAN, Assistant Examiner.

